Turkey from the Air

A collection of aerial photographs of Turkey. The images include the capital Istanbul, as well as the sites of the ancient cities of Ephesus, Miletos and Aphrodisias. Also featured are the plains of Thrace, the uplands of Central Anatolia and Mount Ararat.

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Turkey is a vast and immensely varied country. Its natural wonders are equally diverse, and often stunningly beautiful. Cosmopolitan Istanbul lies at the entrance to the Bosporus, sharing the region with the former Ottoman centres of Bursa and Edirne. To the north are the wide, fertile plains of southern Thrace, rich in evocative history, and to the south the sites of Troy and Pergamum. The western coast has a disparate geography, terminating at Turkey's southwestern tip where mountains reach almost to the sea. Its ranges are traversed by plains irrigated by large rivers; an area famous both for its produce and for celebrated sites of antiquity Ephesus, Miletos and Aphrodisias. The flat uplands of Central Anatolia, Turkey's heart, are in stark contrast. Cappadocia boasts fairy chimneys and churches carved into soft volcanic rock. Eastwards, the land rises towards Mount Ararat and Lake Van, and towards the sources of the Tigris and Euphrates. This whole panorama is enshrined in aerial views of expansive clarity, enhanced by knowledgeable commentary, providing the perfect companion for the visitor or for the lover of this remarkable land.
Stephane Yerasimos is the author of "Living in Turkey" (Thames and Hudson, 1992). Guido Alberto Rossi is director of Image Bank Italy, and took the photographs for "Tuscany from the Air", "Egypt from the Air" and "Italy from the Air" (all published by Thames and Hudson).